Ray Plummer (standing third from the left on second row) is one of the few foreigners with first-hand experience playing hockey in Mongolia. Plummer’s wife, Helen, is standing next to him, along with “Pujee” Purevdaavaa.

The NHL’s Heritage Classic has proven to be an immensely popular event for fans in North America. But to the small, but extraordinarily passionate hockey community in Mongolia, outdoor hockey isn’t a novelty or homage to a simpler past. It’s simply part of the reality of playing.

While there is an indoor rink in the works, currently all 12 rinks in Mongolia are in the great outdoors. Native and expatriate players brave winter temperatures of minus-five to minus-13 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-20 to minus-25 Celsius) to play the game. Mongolia has a six-team national league.

All hockey in the formerly communist country operates through the Mongolian Hockey Federation (MHF), a non-governmental and non-profit organization, established by volunteer organizers in 1990. The MHF’s basic purpose is to develop the sport domestically and to foster relationships and cooperation with international and regional hockey federations. In 1999, Mongolia became a member nation of the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Earlier this year, the Mongolian national team made its IIHF international hockey debut at the Division III World Championships in Dundalk, Ireland. For many of the Mongolian national team players, traveling around the world to compete the Division III tourney it was their first time playing hockey indoors.

 

Related Links: Mongolian Hockey Federation (Beijing International) IIHF Ice Times article on Mongolian hockey (PDF) Chinese/Mongolian Hockey Forum Across the Pond archive

Although Team Mongolia finished last in the field, merely participating in the event at the Dundalk Ice Dome was a dream come true for the players and coaches.

As with most non-traditional hockey nations, the biggest victory for Mongolian hockey is in simply providing access to the game for those who want to learn and play it. Getting a national team into the World Championships – even at the lowest-tier entry level that is Division III – is a significant accomplishment, regardless of the results on the ice.

“Most Mongolians earn less than $50 (U.S.) per month,” says Ray Plummer, who is one of the few foreign players to experience the sport firsthand in the landlocked country situated between China and Russia. “Actually, $50 is the salary of a university professor. So getting these players equipment and having places to play are the two keys to development of hockey and especially kids hockey. This is the same situation for all developing hockey countries, but it’s especially challenging in Mongolia.”

Mongolia has an enormous land mass. In terms of area, it’s the 19th-largest country on earth. It’s also the least densely populated independent nation in the world, because so little of the land is habitable. The south is dominated by the Gobi Desert, the north (which is where all hockey is centered) is mountainous and frigid.

Hockey was first introduced to Mongolia in the 1960s by visiting Soviet factory workers – or “specialists” as the Mongolian federation refers to them – in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. In addition to organizing games during their stay, they made a gift of the hockey equipment they brought.

Over the next decade, several rudimentary outdoor arenas were built in Mongolia’s largest cities; Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, Baganuur, Bor-Under and Khotol. These cities still maintain hockey clubs and are the principle locales for the Mongolian national league.

By 1970, the first Mongolian national championships were organized.

More recently, two men – brothers Choijilav “Pujee” Purevdaavaa and Choijilav “Davaa” Baasandavaa – have played major roles, both on and off the ice, in developing the sport. For most people in the international hockey community, the 41-year-old Pujee is the face and voice of Mongolian hockey.

“Pujee has played hockey with me in Arizona while I was at business school and in New York City when I was working there,” says Plummer. “It was great to get him NHL tickets to watch the Phoenix Coyotes and New Jersey Devils play. He says it was a high point in his life.”

Pujee has served as chairman of the Mongolian Hockey Federation since 1998. Simultaneously filling the roles of players, instructors, leaders and ambassadors, both Pujee and his brother have helped grow the Mongolian game internally and bring it from isolation to the consciousness of the worldwide hockey community.

“Both Pujee and Davaa run their own kids teams and play for opposing men's teams. They are remarkable people,” says Plummer. “Their honesty has made it possible for supporters from other countries to give them thousands of dollars, because the money actually goes to hockey and not into their pockets. Believe me, that’s rare in developing countries. The money we give them each time in single donations is more than their annual salaries in Mongolia, but every last bit of it goes to hockey development.”

By far the most traveled member of the Mongolian hockey community, Pujee has traveled to and played hockey in China, Russia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Thailand, Hong Kong and Ireland. In recognition of his work, he was recently inducted into the international hockey hall of fame.

Among the many challenges of playing hockey in Mongolia, logistics is by far the biggest. The country’s huge land mass and lack of efficient transportation creates a lot of difficulty getting players and equipment from place to place, and severely limits the opportunities to organize friendly games featuring foreign players and teams.

Plummer, who lives and plays in Beijing, says that most foreigners can’t appreciate just how difficult is to get a team to Mongolia.

“In the winter, it’s a dangerous road trip. The trains are not frequent, and the only other option is taking old Soviet transport helicopters from Ulaanbaatar for a 45-minute flight, but they've had four crashes this year alone! It’s pretty hard to sell to the expatriates playing in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong – or anyone is who risk averse – to travel to play in Mongolia.”

To minimize the travel problems for domestic teams, the 10-game Mongolian Hockey League regular season is divided into two stages. The teams travel to one city and play a round-robin series over five days. There are two Ulaanbaatar teams (Otgon Od and Bilegtkhuu). The other teams are Khangardi Erdenet, Baganuur City, Shariin Gol and Darkhan City.

Plummer first discovered Mongolian hockey by accident during a trip there in 1997. He saw a wall mural depicting a hockey game.

“I went over and knocked on the door of the Olympic Committee building to ask if Mongolians really played hockey as the mural on the wall indicated. I was then introduced to Pujee for the first time,” he recalls.

Plummer and Pujee organized the first UB Cup and arranged for Mongolian men and children’s teams come to play in "Friendship Tournaments" held in Beijing.

“With the help of the Beijing expatriate hockey community, we’ve arranged for several containers of used and new hockey equipment to be shipped to Mongolia, and have raised thousands of dollars through tournaments in Beijing and Mongolia. The money has built two arenas in Mongolia and helped offset traveling expenses for the Mongolian men and children's teams to travel to Beijing,” Plummer says.

Today, there are about 840 registered players in Mongolia according to International Ice Hockey Federation statistics. However, Plummer says only about 450 can really be called “active” players.

 

Choijilav “Pujee” Purevdaavaa is the driving force behind Mongolian hockey. The general secretary of the Mongolian Hockey Federation, he has also played, coached and served as international ambassador for the hockey program. In recognition of his work, Pujee was recently inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame.

The players and leagues break down as follows. At the adult level, about 100 players (15 to 20 per team) play in the Mongolian Hockey League. There are also about 70 “old-timers” (age 40 and up) who play in a six-team league, with 10 to 15 players per team. The rest of the players are youth players, with seven teams at the under-18 level and six teams at the under-14 level. For the Mongolian championships at the senior, U-18 and U-14 levels, only native born Mongolians are allowed to participate.

“Most boys start at age 10 or 11. Only a few girls, including Pujee’s daughter, have ever played in Mongolia. His daughter became interested after seeing my wife, Helen, play up there during one of our tournaments,” says Plummer.

In order for “guest” (non-Mongolian) players to participate in the Mongolian men’s league games, special permission is needed. Currently, six Russian players suiting up for the Khangardi team based in the small mining city of Erdenet, which is located six hours by train from Ulaan Baatar. Elsewhere in the league, you’ll find a Canadian player (Tyler Page), a Finnish player (Juuso Koponen) and a Korean player. The rest are Mongolian nationals.

The Mongolian Hockey Federation operates the sport in accordance with governmental rules and has its own constitution where it derives its rules and regulations - for both financial and general management. Rules have been created governing try-outs for national teams and determining the grade of players allowed in each league. Financially, the federation operates through dues paid by individual members and clubs as well as help from private sponsors.

The federation oversees the growth of the sport of ice hockey by hosting several tournaments each year. There are the National Cup, the Ulaan Baatar Championship, junior and youth tournaments and national playoffs as well as the Federation Cup and Special Cup games.

By all accounts, the Mongolian players and coaches have an astounding work ethic, and their joy for the game could charm even the most jaded cynic. In recent years, the MHF has sent national teams to China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, North Korea, Thailand, and New Zealand. The federation also has sent native players, coaches and referees to IIHF-operated workshops and clinics to improve and standardize their technique.

“A big step in the development of hockey in Mongolia was our participation in the 2002 1st IIHF Asian Development Camp in Kurizawa, Japan,” Pujee told the IIHF Ice Times. “Development programs like that are very important to the growth of the game.”

The Mongolian program’s biggest achievement to date was sending a team to the 2007 IIHF Division III World Championships in Dundalk, Ireland. The trip was a dream come true for Pujee, who will turn 42 in December, and the rest of his team. But Pujee is realistic enough to know the caliber of the Mongolian program is still far behind even most Division III countries.

“We love this game and play it with great passion … We have a long way to go, but we feel we are ready to enter the IIHF’s World Championship program” he told the Ice Times prior to the tournament. Learning experience in Ireland

While the Division III level is the entry level of international hockey competition, the Mongolians were up against more experienced teams that sometimes featured semi-pro players. With only a few notable exceptions, such as Pujee and 35-year-old forward Ravdan Erdenepil, most of the Mongolian national team players were in their early 20s.

Not only were the Mongolians the least experienced team in the field, they were also the smallest. Few Mongolian players stand taller than 5-foot-8 (172 centimeters) and only two senior national team players weigh more than 176 pounds (80 kilograms). The Mongolian team at the Division III Worlds featured seven players smaller than 5-foot-7 and eight who are lighter than 160 pounds. The biggest player was 22-year-old defenseman Boldbaatar Munkhuu, who stands 5-foot-11 (180 cm) and weighs 203 pounds (92 kg).

In their opening game at the Dundalk Ice Dome, held on April 15, Mongolia took on tournament host Team Ireland. The Mongolians stayed close for one period, allowing two goals, but were overwhelmed as the game progressed and eventually lost, 11-0. Ireland out-shot their guests by a 43-14 margin.

Showing commendable moxie, the Mongolian players refused to be intimidated by their bigger opponents. In a sometimes chippy affair that saw 84 penalty minutes handed out by Dutch referee Ruud van Baast, the Mongolians played surprisingly physical hockey.

The next day, Mongolia faced Luxembourg and went down, 10-1. Trailing 7-1 early in the third period, Mongolia officially recorded its first international hockey goal when Pujee set up linemate Jargalsaikhan Bayarsaikhan for an even strength tally.

Mongolia played South Africa in its third match. As with the Ireland game, the Mongolians showed a willingness to play chippy hockey and managed to hang around for one period, trailing 2-0. The Mongolians also managed to get 13 shots on goal in the opening stanza to 17 by South Africa. Early in the middle frame, Mongolia got a goal from Ravdan Erdenepil to briefly trim the deficit to 2-1.

At that point, the South African team realized it needed to pick up its level of play. The South Africans scored less than a minute after the Ravdan goal and went on to brutalize the Mongolian team with 11 more unanswered goals over the remainder of the contest, winning 14-1 and out-shooting Mongolia, 69-22, in the process.

In their final contest, Mongolia took on eventual gold medalist New Zealand. The Kiwis took a 10-0 lead into the middle stages of the third period, but found the Mongolian team kept plugging away as though it were a one-goal game. Finally, 24-year-old Mongolian forward Namjil Mishigsuren poked one over the goal line to get his team on the board and prevent a shutout.

Rather than being discouraged by the outcome in Ireland, the Mongolian team views it as a starting point from which to measure its progress at future competitions. After Ireland, Pujee announced his retirement from coaching and playing on the national team to focus on the developmental end of the Mongolian Hockey Federation. Meanwhile, the federation has already announced its intention to send a team to the 2008 IIHF Division III championships in Luxembourg.